In 2003, a 5-year-old Google began the gradual process of leasing 46-acres of land and buildings in Mountain View, California to create their headquarters. In 2013, the tech giant then leased a further 42-acres of adjoining land to develop the Bay View section of a now sprawling campus. Over this 88-acre estate, the firm has installed and developed numerous smart technologies and innovative design features, as well as energy generation and efficiency systems. However, when Google, through its subsidiary Sidewalk Labs, tried to redevelop just 12-acres of public land in Toronto’s Quayside district, they were met with citizen resistance that ultimately shutdown the project. “Sidewalk’s far-reaching proposal promised modular buildings built to Passive House standards and called for code and zoning changes to allow for what it called “radical mixed use” within each building, with compliance maintained by sensors rather than by human inspection. The public realm was to be ‘vibrant and usable year-round,’ thanks to heated sidewalks and retractable canopies […]